I Almost Do
by IntoTheCave
Summary: Starfire is kidnapped and the team does not know how to find her let alone bring her home. Oneshot based on Taylor Swift's song 'I Almost Do' -Rated T just to be safe-


**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing. Teen Titans belongs to DC Comics.

* * *

_I bet this time of night you're still up._

_I bet you're tired from a long hard week._

_I bet you're sitting in your chair by the window looking out at the city._

_I bet sometimes you wonder about me._

A dark night had fallen over Jump City as Robin overlooked his home. The cold grew quiet while the people escaped to their beds for the night. The boy wonder pondered the idea of sleep but it slipped away as quickly as it came. Sleep had eluded him for weeks now.

Upon entering the hero role, he swore to protect the city, his team, her. But he failed the latter and therefore doubted his promise altogether. Slowly, he secluded himself from the others when they lost their lead to finding her.

She was stolen away out of her own room and with nothing left for them to trace. Her own room. The one place she was supposed to feel safe. Robin could only imagine the fear she would have upon entering that room again once they brought her home. If they ever did find her. The team did not want to admit it, but after two weeks they had given up the hope of ever finding her. Robin would not give up, not on her or his promise to protect her. He was going to find her, kill whoever took her and bring her safely back home. To him.

**BEEP! BEEP! **

"Trouble! Titans GO!" Robin yelled as the team assembled in the Ops room and fleeing towards the city.

Reporting to the scene of the crime the Titans were shocked at what was before them. Walking through the halls they encountered guard after guard lying on the ground unconscious. Coming around the corner the team came upon the giant metal door broken off its hinges and thrown off to the side like a piece of cardboard. Whoever did this was strong, really strong.

"No way…" Beast Boy trailed off as they entered the room containing a single computer chip in the center, well used to anyway.

"Star?" Robin asked blinking a few times as if what he saw would disappear.

There she stood in his uniform with his earpiece in her ear, the 'S' on her chest and his control over her. The Titans were unable to move as she gripped the high-tech computer chip tightly in her fist. Starfire's eyes began to glow the green color of her righteous fury as her fists mirrored the same color. Thrusting her fist forward, the first starbolt landed right at Robin's feet. His instincts kicked in and threw himself back closer to his friends with a pained expression evident on his face.

"Dude! I never would have guessed Starfire turned evil…" Beast Boy exclaimed into the silence of the group.

He took the hint to shut up as the whole room was filled by the awkward quiet of both sides staring each other down. One side in disbelief, the other in determination.

_I just want to tell you._

_It takes everything in me not to call you._

_I wish I could run to you and_

_I hope you know that every time I don't_

_I Almost Do._

The group of heroes allowed her to escape seeing as they did not want to believe what they faced.

"Slade is going to pay for whatever he is doing to her. He kidnapped her from her own room and is now turning her against us. He has to be controlling her powers somehow because she would never turn her powers on us. That is not, Starfire." Robin was pacing back and forth thinking of possible reasons for his best friend's out-of-character behavior.

"Until we can figure it out though, we have to stop her from stealing and possibly hurting people." Raven's voice of reason jumped into Robin's occupied mind. "Even if we don't want to."

"But maybe if Slade sees her fail his mission he won't want her as his apprentice anymore." Cyborg butted in.

"Starfire is strong though and she knows our weaknesses so it will be difficult to stop her." Raven muttered matter-of-factly.

"But if he sees her fail, Slade would be mad and could hurt her or worse." Robin stated with rage spilling out of his mouth.

* * *

"Good job, Apprentice. I am glad my plan has worked so effortlessly." Slade hissed in her ear "Your little friends haven't even tried to stop you. Now pick up the chip and come home."

"That place will **never **be my home." Starfire specified angrily.

"It is your home and I am your master." Slade spit back venomously. "Now do as I said or your pretty little Titans will never forgive you."

Starfire winced at the thought of his plan to destroy her friends if she did not comply. She quickly tried to erase the mental image and continued with her task hoping her friends would just leave her to do what she must. Though it pained her to be on the opposite side of her friends, being their enemy was not a feeling she would ever want to experience again.

"Please friends, leave me be…" Her eyes glossed over with tears.

"Stop." She turned to face her friends that were strategically positioned to end her mission. "We don't want to hurt you."

Starfire's face remained stoic amidst while she swiftly seized the poorly-guarded chip and blasted a hole through the ceiling. Flying through, she made for her escape but the Titans followed suit. Making it to the roof just in time to dodge a starbolt, Robin flicked out his staff and a few explosive disks waiting to be launched. But before Robin could attack, a blue blast flew past him and came dangerously close to hitting her.

Robin wanted to turn and yell at his teammate for attempting to harm Starfire but he caught himself, realizing their current situation. Unable to attack her, he powerlessly watched his team try to bring her down. He just could not bring himself to hurt his best friend.

Being a very skilled fighter, Starfire easily avoided the team's offenses and fired her own. It was much easier to stop them than she imagined, but maybe they were holding back a little. At last, the only person she had yet to strike stood in front of her emerald gaze. Her face never softened but the hurt throbbed in her chest.

"Star, please stop. I don't want to hurt you. I've been here before. I can help you." Robin's brow furrowed. "If he is threatening to hurt you, we will stop him. He will not be able to touch you. Just please come back home."

"Attack him. Or I will." Slade's voice rang in her ear.

Very slowly, she raised her hand against Robin and charged a starbolt. She will never forget the look in his eyes when she truly did hit him in the chest.

_I bet you think I either moved on or hate you._

'_Cause each time you reach out there's no reply._

_But I bet it never ever occurred to you_

_That I can't say hello to you and risk another goodbye._

"She is stone cold, straight up evil. She didn't hold back or even hesitate at all!" Beast Boy shouted.

"She had a task. She was not going to let us get in the way." Raven said.

"I can't believe it. Little Star?" Confusion and hurt racked Cyborg's brain.

Robin had retreated to his bedroom the moment they returned to the Tower. He had to go analyze everything that had just happened. That was not Starfire, his best friend, the most compassionate person he knew. She would never want to destroy the team, let alone hurt them. The answers were escaping from his grasp and he could not think straight. All he knew was that he was **not** going to let Slade win.

"We have to kidnap her back."

The idea was thrown out there so casually that it hung in the air until they digested the words.

"We are going to sneak in, attack Slade and bring Starfire home." Robin played out the scene in his head while he smashed his fist into his other hand.

_We made quite a mess babe it's probably better off this way._

_But I confess baby in my dreams you're touching my face._

_And asking me if I want to try again with you._

_And I Almost Do._

* * *

"Now Apprentice, you have to forget about your little friends. They are not you friends anymore because they have turned against you. They no longer want to help you." Slade whispered circling his apprentice.

"You do not know what you say. My friends will do the looking and they will rescue me." Starfire said knowingly.

"Don't fool yourself, you fired at them and defeated them. They will never forgive you. Even little Robin believes you are actually evil." His smirk could be sensed through his mask.

"Robin would never leave me with you. He will come." Starfire's voice quieted as her hope dwindled at the thought of Robin giving up on her. "Please…"

"Titans GO!"

The door suddenly burst through the frame and settled on the floor just inside the large room. The Titans stood face-to-face with Slade and Starfire.

"Ah, it's about time. Apprentice, attack!" Slade shouted.

Starfire leaped into the air and lunged toward her friends who stood there defiantly. Robin dodged the attack and flung himself at Slade landing a kick right on his arm that was raised in defense. Kicking and punching with everything he had and there was still not a mark left on Slade.

"You know, she is very obedient. It only took a couple hits for her to realize the consequences of not obeying me." Slade sneered. "She will do **anything** to keep you and your little friends safe."

Robin's anger was fueled by Slade's comments and kicked harder than he ever thought he could. There was a split second where Slade was worried Robin might actually land a hit on him. Robin took notice of that lapse of mind and swung his staff to come in contact with Slade's side. He stumbled to the side and Robin took off towards his friends and the fighting Tamaranean.

"Raven, now!" He shouted as he caught her attention.

Immediately, a black cloak covered the team and Starfire and a raven flew through the ceiling. Slade failed to catch any of them in time to stop the escape and slammed his fist into the nearby wall in irritation.

* * *

"Starfire?" Robin knocked hesitantly at her door awaiting her reply.

"You may enter." Her soft answer made his heart skip a beat as he entered her room.

The usually bright, purple room was now a dark, haunting cave as she sat on the middle of the floor leaning against her bed. Her knees were drawn to her chest carefully as her eyes looked out the window with a frightened demeanor not withdrawing to see him step in. This position, the look in her eyes made Robin realize just how fragile she really was. Even though she was the strongest person he had ever met, she was scared.

"I apologize." Robin barely saw her lips move. "I did not want to do the fighting against my friends. Against you." She added quietly.

"Starfire, you have nothing to apologize for. Slade held you there against your will and for that he is to blame." Robin sat down next to her softly.

"But I allowed his words to affect me. I allowed him to keep me there." The emerald eyes that were regularly filled with happiness were starting to fill with tears. "And for that I am sorry."

"Did he hurt you, Star?" Robin's voice now submerged in concern.

The response came a few minutes later after a thoughtful silence. "Even if he did I would not want you to worry over me." She stood up and walked to the window to get a closer look at the stars.

"It's too late to tell me not to worry. I almost drove myself insane wondering about what he could have possibly done to you. Please. I need to know." His face was pleading for her to confide in him as he joined her at the window.

"Robin, I do not deserve the concern you are showing me. I am weak. On Tamaran being weak is unacceptable." That voice, the vulnerability she was showing without trying, Robin's heart sank at how delicate she was in this moment.

All he wanted to do was embrace her and reassure her everything was going to be alright but he knew his words would not comfort anything. Slade stole her sense of security on Earth and made her feel weak making her ashamed of herself. How was Robin supposed to combat these feelings when he couldn't even prevent them? He truly did break his promise to protect her and the guilt he was feeling magnified each time she denied to talk to him.

"Please, Star, I know I can't take back what he did even though I would give anything to erase that from your memory, but I want to help. Let me help you." With a hopeful prayer he looked at her.

"He hit me. More than once. He pushed me on to the floor and kicked me until I could breathe no longer. I tried, Robin! I promise you, I tried with all the strength permitted to me to stop it. I made myself believe that he would exhaust himself and leave me in loneliness." The tears spilled over onto her cheeks and Robin gently wiped them away. "Eventually, his anger at me relinquished and he did truly leave, but I feared he would return. I still do fear he will reappear in my room when I stare to the shadows. I fear he will steal me away… forever."

By this time she had thrown herself into Robin's chest and his hand was running through her hair. The tears stained his shirt as she relived the nightmare that Slade had induced. Her breathing was erratic and she gasped for air as if she were drowning. He could do nothing but 'shh' and hold her tightly to his chest.

"Star, I will **never** let him hurt you ever again. You will be safe with me forever." Robin hesitated to say the next words but her eyes gazed into his mask asking for it. "I promise."

Robin held her that night, listening to her even breathing while she rested against him. She did not want to sleep in her room, afraid that he would return despite Robin's persistent attempts to convince her otherwise. Finally, he admitted defeat and carried her to his room across the hall and settled down on his bed as she reluctantly drifted off to sleep. Sleep eluded him once again that night, but it was not due to Starfire being gone. After a long wait, she was here, with him, and he was not going to miss a single second of it.

The next morning as Robin walked into the main room to get some breakfast he noticed the other three Titans hovering over something at the table. Curiously, he walked over to see what had captivated them.

"Dude…" Beast Boy started as Robin caught a glance at the piece of paper on in front of them.

"We found it on Star's bed…" Cyborg sighed flipping it around for Robin to read.

_I bet this time of night you're still up._

_I bet you're tired from a long hard week._

_I bet you're sitting in your chair by the window looking out at the city._

_I hope sometimes you wonder about me._

* * *

Okay, so I just had to write this idea out. It is way longer than I expected it to be but I was just adding to it when I had free time in class. I know I am not a great writer and I overuse commas. I apologize but the idea is there and out for you to see. I hope you liked it!

Thank you for reading and hopefully reviewing.


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